Preparing a well assembly traversing a hydrocarbon bearing subterranean formation can involve cementing operations that pump cement into place in a wellbore. Cementing operations can seal an annulus between a casing string and a subterranean formation after the casing string has been run into the wellbore. A wiper plug (also known as a “cementing plug”) can be used to separate cement slurry from other fluids during cementing operations. Inadequate separation between the cement slurry and other fluids can reduce the predictability of cement characteristics, result in cement having unfavorable characteristics (e.g., decreased strength, increased curing time, etc.), or both.